Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Arab news channel of terrorism and said he would close the outlet’s newsroom immediately
The Israeli Parliament approved this Monday (April 1, 2024) a law that allows international broadcasters to be closed in the country. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s new legislation targets Arabic newspapers Al Jazeera, which is financed by the monarchy of Qatar, a country that has acted as a mediator in talks between Israel and Hamas.
The rule was approved by 71 votes in favor and 10 against. In his profile on X, Netanyahu https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1774827092544233627 which will suspend the newspaper’s activities immediately. The Israeli Prime Minister called the vehicle “terrorist” and accused him of participating in the October 7 Hamas attack.
A Al Jazeera is the vehicle with the largest number of journalists on site in the Gaza Strip to cover the war between Israel and Hamas and has shown daily the difficulties faced by Palestinian civilians trying to survive Israeli attacks and starvation.
The newspaper also maintains a page with daily updates on the number of deaths and injuries in the conflict.
At least 3 journalists who worked for the outlet have been killed in the region since the start of the conflict. In total, according to figures from the CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists, in Portuguese), 95 journalists were killed, 90 Palestinians, 2 Israelis and 3 Lebanese.
What Al Jazeera said
In a statement, the outlet denied and condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements, saying he presented “lies” It is “slander” against the network and its employees. A Al Jazeera also held the politician personally responsible for the safety of employees and the network’s facilities around the world, in view of the “incitement and false accusations”. Here is the full note (PDF, in English – 273 kB).
“The network highlights that this latest measure is part of a series of Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera. Including the murder of journalists Shireen Abu Alkeh, Samer AbuDaqqa and Hamza AlDahdouh; the bombing of the newsroom in Gaza; deliberately targeting several Al Jazeera journalists and their families and carrying out arrests and intimidation against correspondents in the field”, wrote the broadcaster.
USA reacts
United States government spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House views the legislation with concern and that they believe press freedom is fundamental.
